Hungary Court Annuls Ban on Fascist, Communist Symbols

Hungary’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday struck down a ban on the use of symbols of fascist and communist dictatorships, including the red star and the swastika.

The decision sparked a nationwide outcry, with the government now seeking alternative ways of banning the symbols. Jewish organizations said the decision hurts all Hungarian Jews, while Hungary’s communists said the move does nothing to address the issues it fights for.

The ban was too broad and imprecise enough, the court ruled. Banning symbols of tyranny may be justified in the interest of defending human dignity and the constitutional order, but the regulations in place disproportionately restrict freedom of expression, it said.

In its Tuesday decision, the court reversed a verdict from 2000. In doing so, it pointed to the example of the European Court of Human Rights, which struck down the ban on symbols of tyranny.

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